Amazon has taken over the planet. Quite literally. This mega-corporation fuels climate change, produces physical waste, and is run by billionaires who are pulling the strings of the media and world governments. This is all bad news. What can we do about it?

Quit giving them your money!

Why are we doing this?

Voting with your dollar MATTERS. The less money we give to Amazon, the less money they have to exploit people and destroy the planet. Amazon is one of the worst companies I can think of, from union-busting to having known poor working conditions to being one of the world’s largest polluters. This is not a company I feel good about giving my money to.

Where we shop is an investment, and I don’t want to invest in this. I hope you feel the same. If you do but you’re not sure where to start when it comes to ditching mega-corps like Amazon, this is the post for you!

Let’s get into it!

Cancel your Prime Membership

Canceling your Prime Membership doesn’t mean you can’t shop on Amazon anymore, but I think it’s a great first step. Amazon Prime has made us so addicted to shopping and itching for that hit of dopamine as lighting speeds. We hit order and get said order in a day or two. It’s addicting. So, cancel your Prime. You can still impulse shop, sure, but now it will take you a few days to get that purchase. This gives you time to think about that purchase and perhaps come to regret it.

This also removes other benefits, such as streaming, which you can do elsewhere.

Then, cancel your entire account

Once you’ve weaned yourself off of Amazon, it’s time to fully give it up by canceling your account in its entirety. This should hopefully help you quell the urge to keep using it.

Follow this up by deleting the app and removing any bookmarks for it that you have on your computer. If you still find yourself manually typing in the web address, find a way to put a “child block” on this domain so that you can’t access it.

A note: if there is something that is absolutely essential for you that you cannot find anywhere else, fine. Use Amazon for that. For example, my film camera takes a very specific battery. So, when the batteries die, I can only find them on Amazon. I just buy the largest pack that I can to limit my Amazon purchase number. This is the only thing I have bought on Amazon in at least 5 years. If you can give it up 100%, fine. But if you can only reach 99%, that’s much better than not giving it up at all.

It’s not all or nothing. Give yourself grace. It can be hard to quit an addiction cold turkey. You will get there in time.

Find other businesses to support

It can be hard to switch to a small business after Amazon. Why? Amazon gets you so used to being able to buy everything with the click of one button at the cheapest prices with the quickest delivery times. No one else compares. That’s the point.

So, practice your patience. It may take you 5-10 days to get your package now. But if you need something that urgently, it’s probably best to just go pick it up in person.

It’s important now more than ever that we shop small since big business is infiltrating the news, social media, and the government. Quit giving them your money and give it to small businesses that care more about the planet and are inherently more sustainable.

You can find my list of small eco businesses that sell just about every eco thing you can think of here. But I encourage you to try locally first before shopping online! You never know what you might discover now that Amazon is not your go-to.

Maybe you already have some favorite businesses that you buy from on Amazon. Take that brand name to your local search engine and buy it directly from their website!

Find another hobby besides shopping

Many of us use shopping as a quick hit of dopamine. It’s addicting and brings us joy! So, find something else to scratch that itch. Here are a few ideas:

If you can’t fully break up with shopping, try secondhand shopping instead. It’s more eco, as cheap as Amazon junk, and more unique!
Read a book (here are my book recs)
Go on a walk or a hike
Hunt for Free Little Libraries. It’s like a treasure hunt that gives me a good feeling!
Try your regular library and get a library card. They have so much media for you to borrow. More benefits of libraries here.
Do a craft
Hang out with friends
Take a class

Need more advice for breaking up with consumerism? Check out this video or download my free guide!

Try a slow hobby

I already mentioned a few hobbies above but they can all give you that quick hit of dopamine that shopping supplies. But, I also encourage you to find a SLOW hobby. This will train your brain to slow down. As Amazon has trained us in the past to want more and want it now, we need to unlearn that. Learn how to take your time. Learn that good things take time. Learn that progress takes time. Here are some slow hobby ideas that may take days, weeks, or even months to complete:

Reading
Crocheting or knitting
Sewing (especially large projects)
Wood-working
Rock climbing
Painting
Pottery
Scrapbooking
Gardening

Ditch Amazon Subsidiaries

Amazon is the parent company to many smaller (though still huge) companies that you might not have thought were related. So, once you break up with Amazon proper, try breaking up with their other companies as well to further divest your money:

Whole Foods
Audible
Kindle
Ring
GoodReads
And more

Give yourself grace

As I mentioned time and time again, be kind to yourself. If you make an occasional Amazon purchase, that’s not the end of the world, nor an excuse to fall back into bad habits. One Amazon purchase per month is better than one per day. It takes time to unlearn bad habits, break up with consumerism, and get out of addictive ways.

So, be patient and keep practicing. I used to be addicted to both shopping and Amazon. I used to scroll Amazon for fun and make wish lists. Now, I fill my free time with crocheting, reading, and getting outside.

Find something else that brings you joy and practice underconsuming. Eventually, Amazon will be a thing of your past (and hopefully the past of all of civilization). For now, be kind to yourself.

Please leave your tips for ditching with Amazon down below so that we may all continue to learn. And, don’t forget to get my free guide to breaking up with consumerism here.

Thank you so much for reading along. As always, remember that your small actions make a big difference in the long run :)

Emma

We Need to Ditch Amazon: Here’s How to do it